Final Battle
by Natureboy3
Summary: Leon and Ashley are almost home, but someone stands in there way. Not Saddler, but the Merchant! The weapons dealer has a few surprises, and Ashley is done hiding. One-shot. LeonxAshley.


**A.N.: This has been mulling around in my head for awhile, so here it is. Review! No flames, please.**

Leon gripped tightly to his Blacktail as the elevator carried him upward, his body filled with adrenaline. The gray sky was starting to pour rain, and a light mist was covering the landscape.

The elevator doors slid open as it reached the top, and Leon stepped out. There, tied up and hanging above the ground, were Ada Wong and Ashley Graham.

The agent had last seen Ada pumping hundreds of TMP bullets into Saddler as Leon moved Ashley to safety. The American agent and the president's daughter had successfully removed the _Las Plagas _eggs that were threatening to turn them into Saddler's puppets, when Ashley had been taken away again.

Ashley had removed Leon's _Plaga_ after hers had been removed, and the agent was taking a moment to recover. The radiation of Luis's machine had caused his vision to blur, so he never saw what happened.

He heard Ashley scream, then footsteps as the intruder ran away. Leon spent the time as his vision cleared punching the walls, leaving his knuckles raw and bleeding. He swore that nothing would happen to Ashley, and he meant it.

He would be sure to make Saddler suffer. Osmund Saddler, meanwhile, stretched out his hand to take control of a _Plaga_ that was no longer inside of the American agent.

His other hand gripped his tentacle staff, looking slightly confused. Leon smirked and held out Krauser's knife, which he kept after taking the final insignia off of his dead past-college.

"Better try a new trick, 'cause that one's getting old."

With that, he threw the knife and cut freed the two women, dropping them safely onto a pile of burlap sacks and other junk.

Ada was the first to respond, quickly springing to her feet, her red dress fluttering like a startled bird.

"Are you okay?"

"I"ve been better," the Asian female confirmed.

Ashley was a little slower to rise, gingerly checking the cuts and bruises on her smooth skin before slowly rising to her feet. Her clothes were filthy, her blonde hair was rough and messy, and her golden eyes had a look of fear.

Yet she still had a glow of radiance around her. To Leon, she looked absolutely stunning. The fear in her eyes disappeared slightly as they settled on her rescuer.

"Are you okay, Ash?"

Ashley took a shaky breath, "I'm fine, Leon."

Saddler watched all this and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Leon demanded. He was ready to rip the _Los Illumanados _leader to pieces.

"Oh, I think you know. The American prevailing is a cliche that only happens in your Hollywood movies." His tone had a mimicking tint to it. "Oh, Mr. Kennedy, you entertain me. To show my appreciation, I shall help you awaken from your world of cliches."

_Blllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllsssssssssssssssssssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!_

Leon covered his eyes as a brilliant blast of lightengulfed Saddler. Opening his eyes, his ice-blue gaze saw the Saddler was gone. The metal platform lay scorched, with nothing but his tentacle staff remaining.

In his place was the Merchant, to everyone's surprise. The weapons dealer had the same cloak and backpack he always wore, and was holding a futuristic looking device that covered much of his right arm.

His free hand stroked the weapon fondly as if it were a loving pet. P. R. L. 412 was printed on the side.

"Strangah, congratulations." His red eyes bore into Leon as he spoke.

"What?"

"I never thought you would have made it this far. I sent wave after wave of Ganados at ya', even Mendez and Salazar couldn't take ya' out. You're skills far exceed what I thought. You never left the girl, which greatly surprised me."

The Merchant continued when Leon remained silent. The agent was boiling inside, and about _this_ close to pulling out his knife and piercing the man's skull. How dare he suggest that he would have left Ashley! He kept still, though, and listened the weapons dealer continued.

"Saddler was just a puppet, strangah. He didn't want to hurt you anymore then the rest of the Ganados."

This shocked Leon slightly. It was hard to picture Osmund Saddler as an honest, hard-working villager that wanted to do with the _Los Illumanados. _

"So, why did you let me live? You could've killed me whenever my back was turned."

The agent slowly moved his hand toward the Killer7 that was holstered to his belt. If the Merchant noticed, he didn't show it.

"To test your skills, mate. I needed to know exactly what you we're capable of. I never expected that 'copter to show up, so I didn't get a chance to see what you were really capable of."

Leon yanked the magnum out and leveled it with the Merchant's chest. His blue eyes narrowed, his trigger finger tense.

"Ehehehehehehehe," the Merchant spread out his arms to make a bigger target. "Hit me strangah, I dare you," his gaze darted to the side, to Ashley. "I can see why you're so intent on savin' the little lady. A very good looking broad, mate. Have taken her to bed yet?"

That did it. Leon felt something snap inside his head, and his vision turned scarlet.

_Bam! Bam! Bam!_

Squeezing the trigger, he pulled it again and again until the magazine was empty.

_*Click* *Click* *Click*_

As his vision returned to normal, Leon was surprised to see the Merchant was still standing. Not only that, but his eyes were narrowed and he was letting out that creepy laugh of his.

"Ehehehehehehe, nice try strangah."

Leon watched as the Merchant threw the P. R. L. 412 over the edge of the platform, followed by a dull splash as it hit the sea.

"Don't want ya' to get no ideas, strangah."

_Shit. _

The Merchant turned back to Leon and pulled open his cloak, which was full of bullet holes, to reveal a Tactical Vest covering his torso.

_Double shit. No wonder the it didn't have any effect._

Leon had almost bought one for himself, which would had been a good investment. But the purchase had been changed at the last second.

* * *

Leon moved down the castle hallway, Ashley struggling to keep up. The agent was in much better physical condition then his subject, and she soon needed a break.

"Leon...please...I need to stop," she said between gasps for air.

Leon nodded and the president's daughter sat down on a nearby crate. As she regained her breath, Leon walked the Merchant who was nearby; the trademark blue flame announcing his presence.

"What're ya' buyin'?"

"What have you got?"

The merchant held out a Tactical Vest, "An awesome choice, strangah. It would take a rocket launcher to get through this. Definitely an investment you won't regret."

Leon reached into his pockets and dug around. He had just enough pesetas to pay for it...

_Morir es vivir...morir es vivir...te voy ah matar..._

"No! Leon-aaah!"

The thing about zealots and shields is that the Blacktail has little effect on them. Another thing to note is that they're not very interested in carrying Ashley off.

_...te voy ah matar..._

See what I mean?

Leon whirled around to see aforementioned zealot swing a Morning Star at Ashley. She avoided it, almost. It caught her in the thigh, sending her to the ground. The zealot raised his flail again.

"_Ha ha ha ha ha..." _

Another thing you may wish to note is that Leon's kicks are very strong. Strong enough to kick a Ganado's head off, and this one was no exception.

Ashley looked up to see Leon kneel down at her side. Blood was streaming down her side, as tears streamed her face. Her amber eyes had look of fear in them; blood oozed out between her fingers in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding, spreading across the tile floor.

She felt her face redden as Leon lifted her skirt slightly to get a better look at her wound. She watched as he got back up and dashed over to the Merchant.

"First-aid spray! Now!"

The Merchant calmly handed him a silver spray-can as Leon thrust a bunch of pesetas into his gloved hands. Sprinting back to Ashley, he kneeled beside her.

"Ash, this may hurt a bit."

Ashley took a deep breath and closed her eyes as Leon sprayed the stuff onto her skin. It hurt like hell. Opening her eyes again; she saw that the skin had healed completely. Tricell made good products.

Leon had used the stuff before, and the effect was instant. The agent took Ashley's hand in his own and helped her stand up. Her smile was beautiful, and Leon watched as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He was dimly aware of her lips pressing against his, and the president's daughter giggle with delight. As he gripped her waist, she began rubbing her body against his...

"A-hem."

The two broke apart, very red in the face. The Merchant continued to stare at them, looking kinda freaked out.

Regaining his composure best he could, Leon held out what was left of his money.

"Any chance I could get a discount on that Tactical Vest?"

"Not enough cash, strangah."

* * *

Leon whirled around, gripping his Striker as he did so.

"Ashley, Ada, stand back!"

The woman in red pulled out a grapple gun from her leg holster and shot it at a nearby tower, pulled herself up gracefully, and landed on her feet.

The blonde girl turned and ran down a narrow walkway before ducking behind a pile steel beams.

"Okay, strangah, any final one-liners?"

The Merchant cooly pulled out a Chicago Typewriter from his cloak. Leon moved like lightning, throwing his knife at the weapons peddler. The Merchant shot it before it could pierce his throat, but it gave Leon the split second he needed.

Diving behind an iron pillar, it shielded him from the storm of bullets that were directed. The Merchant frowned, putting away the Typewriter and pulling out a Bow-gun.

"Come out, strangah. Let's see what you're made of."

Leon sprinted out of his hiding place and across and small metal walkway, firing several shots as he went. They had no effect, however, and Leon took a crossbow bolt to the shoulder.

Cursing his bad luck, Leon found himself on a smaller, narrower platform. He was out of shotgun shells, and found himself with no useable weapon other then his handgun.

He shot like crazy at the Merchant, who had slowly crossed the walkway and was advancing steadily closer. The Tactical Vest deflected any bullets to the torso, and he easily sidestepped.

Leon fumbled to reload his weapon, which the Merchant laughed at.

"Strangah, weapons ain't just bout shootin', They're about reloadin'.

He calmly pulled a Broken Butterfly out of his coat, "farewell, strangah..."

* * *

Ashley watched all this from behind her stack of metal beams. Tears dripped freely down her face as she watched the Merchant pull out a Broken Butterfly.

"Use this!"

A large tube-shaped object landed behind Leon, courtesy of Ada. _It would take a rocket launcher to get through this..._

Leon grabbed the weapon and started to balance on his shoulder. The Merchant had already leveled the Broken Butterfly at him. Ashley was on her feet before she could think. She was _not _going to let this man hurt Leon. She was done hiding.

The president's daughter launched herself forward...

* * *

Leon struggled to balance the heavy rocket launcher on his shoulder. He watched the Merchant point the revolver at him.

_Bam! Bam! Bam! _

Leon watched as Ashley ran out of nowhere, right into the path of the revolver. Three red pots appeared on her chest, and she dropped onto the ground, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps.

"You mother-fucking son of a bitch!"

_Boooooooooom!_

Leon pulled the trigger, and the Merchant was no more. Just like that, it was over.

He dropped the empty shell and knelt down beside Ashley. She looked up at him with those beautiful amber eyes of hers.

"Leon..."

"Don't talk, Ashley! Stay with me!" His vision grew blurred as wet tears slid down his face. Ashley smiled at him, before growing still. She was gone.

_Whiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!_

"Leon! The Merchant armed explosives! We need to get off this island now!"

Leon looked up to see Ada set down a pair of keys beside him, for the jet-ski in a nearby cave. She vaulted off the platform and onto an awaiting helicopter, taking a sample of the master-plaga with her.

The agent then stood up, carrying Ashley bridal-style. He still had a mission to complete. Nothing was going to stop him.

" I love you Ashley..."

**A.N.: This took me forever! I don't get a lot of time on the computer anymore. Sorry that the fight scene is short and the ending abrupt. I really wanted to finish this tonight. Please review! **


End file.
